Food

So it all started one day when I noticed a grand opening sign in a neighborhood strip center: The Poke House. No description (at least none that I could see as I slowly crawled my car past the establishment to get a better look). Poke. Could it be a cutesy name for an acupuncture practice? No- I spotted tables and chairs through the tinted store windows. A restaurant! Not that there’s any shortage of restaurants in our area. But the site of a new one turns me into a kid on Christmas day. “I can’t wait to try this out!”

And that’s what we did. On the way, my husband and I debated the correct pronunciation of Poke. Poke…Po-kee…? Although a Google search was just a few finger-taps away, we found it more amusing to guess. And poke each other “poke!”. In admitting this story, I reveal our ignorance to an apparent Poke craze (and it’s po-kay, by the way).

Poke, we discovered, is raw fish salad. Raw fish. Salad. A delightful combination, especially to those who have ever wished they could eat a bowl of sushi. Originally a Hawaiian dish, mainland Americans seemed to have put their own spin on it. Doesn’t matter to me. Any restaurant that offers a choice of raw salmon, tuna, or hamachi – marinated in a savory sauce – placed in a bowl of rice, greens, veggies, and more goodness… is poke (po-kay) with me!

So where can you find Poke?

Outside of Hawaii, Poke first became popular in the US in Southern California and is most prevalent on the West Coast. However, you’ll notice Poke restaurants popping up anywhere you can find fresh sushi. Here’s a list of some popular Poke restaurants around the country. Know a Poke spot near you that you like? Let us know in the comments!

People have dietary restrictions for a number of reasons. Sometimes the reason is medical, other times it’s a personal choice, and often it’s a combination of the two. Many believe that the food we put into our bodies has a profound effect on our health, wellbeing, and even the presence or absence of disease. Although the surge of nutritional information and dietary advice seems to be a recent trend, the concept that diet can be used to treat or prevent disease is actual quite historical. Hippocrates, the ancient Greek Physician is known for saying, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

So, can someone on a restricted diet still be considered a foodie? My answer is, yes! Maybe even more so, as eliminating certain common foods allows for experimentation of foods and food groups that had previously been ignored. For instance, eliminating wheat or gluten may lead one to try alternative grains such as rice, quinoa, or buckwheat. Having tried both wheat-free and gluten-free diets myself, I’ve found that ditching the bread actually enhances the taste experience. With a bun-less burger, I truly experience all the tastes of the meat and toppings.

Giving up dairy in addition to gluten was more difficult for me, as I love, love, love cheese. Did I mention I like cheese? But I thought this restriction was worth it as part of an anti-inflammatory lifestyle. I still eat eggs (and man do I eat eggs!) but I avoid all animal milk products. Alternatives to dairy that have come to be a regular part of my diet include almond and coconut milk, and dips like hummus, guacamole, and pico de gallo (instead of crackers and cheese).

While restricting certain foods is, indeed, a restriction – it can also expand your palate beyond what you used to eat. If the particular diet is also curative, or at least makes you feel better, then it’s a win-win. That is not to say that living with a medically-necessary diet is easy or carefree; in fact, for those who do not have a choice it can be a huge hardship. But I hope that with the increasing awareness of gluten-free and other special diets, alternative food choices become more and more convenient.

Do you crave certain foods depending on your mood? Everyone is different, but maybe some of us share the following mind-gut connections!

What you eat when you’re…

Happy

Pretty much anything. After all, you’re happy and feel like nothing can go wrong – including dinner.

Excited

A snack, appetizer, or tapa. When you’re excited about something, you don’t care too much about eating. But who could turn down a few bites of fish dip or a tasty slider?

Sad

Now this one is different for everyone. Some people don’t want to eat when they’re sad. Others prefer comfort foods – maybe something you ate since you were little. How about homemade grilled cheese, or drowning your sorrows in a bowl of spaghetti?

Angry

Something spicy. Buffalo wings, and some blue cheese to cool it (and you) down a bit.

Anxious

Similar to sad-mood food, this one can go either way. Most likely, if you’re super anxious about something, your hunger switch is turned to “off”.

Curious

Something exotic. A new type of ethnic food, or something you’ve never had like goat, alligator, or rabit. Or if you’re not into meat, then kale, quinoa, or seaweed.

Bored

The worst time to eat (for your waistline anyway)! When you’re bored you’d eat pretty much anything, and any amount.

Inspired

When you’re inspired, maybe you’ll cook up a new kitchen creation, snap a photo, and post your pride on facebook!

Restaurant deals are a great way to save money. Another dine-savvy tip is to sign up for rewards programs and earn points at participating restaurants. Over the weekend, we took a trip about three hours north to Cocoa Beach, FL. We searched for restaurants offering deals in the area and checked reviews. We decided on a sports bar for dinner called Sandbar Sports Grill. The restaurant is affiliated with a number of rewards programs, such as those offered by airlines and hotel chains. What a delicious decision. I had the gator tacos which were just amazing. I paid the check with my credit card linked to Free Spirit Dining and earned some valuable airline points! I definitely recommend signing up for dining rewards programs, especially if you eat out a lot. For foodies like us, it’s a no-brainer! Below is a photo of the entrance of this unique place. If we’re ever back that way, we’ll be visiting again!

Sometimes the hardest part about being on a food budget is going out to eat with friends. You don’t want dampen the mood by discussing how much you can spend (and then concluding that it will only get you half an appetizer and some ice water). So I discovered that this is one great time to use a restaurant deal. The benefits are twofold: you get to stay on budget and your friends get to save some money too!

Here’s an example from this week. Two friends and I decided to go out to lunch. We knew which area we wanted to go, so I checked out some nearby restaurant deals. I found a great sandwich place with a mouth-watering name – Daily Melt Grill – and a wallet-friendly deal! Pay $12 for $20 worth of sandwiches. Perfect for the three of us. Our total came to $21 (but we only paid $13), then we split the $13 three ways = $4.33/person… for delicious, melty, yummy goodness.

I could get used to dining for less. In fact, I’m going to find my next deal right now. Until next time…

So a few weeks ago I discovered how much I actually spend on food in a week, and I’ve done some brainstorming for ways to cut down on that.

Since the holidays crept up quickly after my last post – and involved traveling, dining out, and of course Christmas shopping – I decided it wasn’t the best time to start revamping my budget (excuse).

But now, like most of the country, I’m using the mantras: “no excuses” and “turning a new leaf”. I will cut down on food spending with a new year’s resolution. It won’t happen all at once, but I’ll do it in steps.

First, I’ll tackle dining out expenses. I think the best way is to use restaurant deals, which are plentiful around the web (but not always accessible when you search alone). That’s why websites like Cravor help by aggregating all the deals near your location and listing them in one place. You won’t believe all the restaurants you know that have deals you didn’t know about!

So step one of my new years resolution to eat and dine for less is to utilize restaurant coupons any time I can. Check back for updates as I post the best deals and most delicious meals.

In one week, I spent $159 on food. I spent the least amount of money on fast food (10%). I guess that’s a good thing because I’ve heard it’s not all that healthy (ha). It’s also cheap, so it makes sense that fast food comprises the smallest category of my spending.

Next came supermarket spending (23%). Going forward, I’d like to see a higher percent spent on cost-efficient supermarket shopping than on restaurants and convenience stores.

At convenience stores you pay for just that – convenience. I’m sure this category (25%) was made up of my least cost-efficient choices. Finally, restaurants take first place in my spending experiment at 42% of my weekly food food budget (or lack thereof)! This probably has a lot to do with the higher cost of restaurant meals in general, combined with the need to tip, and perhaps my frequenting them too often.

But what’s a foodie to do? I won’t give up dining out. Homemade is great, but it doesn’t eliminate the need (ok, desire) for professionally prepared and served meals. Restaurant coupons and discounts are out there, but often hard to find right when you need them and where you need them. Websites like cravor.com make it easier. For instance, instead of paying full price two nights ago at Cheesecake Factory, I could have had Cravor search the web for deals at this chain.

So, that’s one of my goals: use more restaurant deals. Another goal is to cook more and become supermarket savvy. Over the next few weeks I’ll work on revamping my spending habits. I’ll check in with stories, recipes, and tips for dining for less. One thing I know is: I’m going to keep craving, but hopefully I’ll start saving! See you soon…

Checking in on day three of my food expense activity. Last night we made chicken quesadillas at home. I have to say they came out pretty well, and I’ll definitely add them to our dinner option list. Ta-da!

Today I made my usual stop for coffee on the way to work. I alternate between Einstein Bros, Starbucks, McDonalds, and Dunkin Donuts. Surprisingly (or not), all four are on my two-mile drive to work. Starbucks, the most expensive of the group, is the one I visit the least. I’d like to say that’s due to the cost, but the parking lot is also hard to turn into from my direction. McDonalds, while not my favorite coffee, is the fastest and I tend to leave home with just enough time to start class (and college students quickly learn that they don’t have to show up on time if their instructor doesn’t).

Anyway, McDonalds made another few bucks off of me today. I do this thing where I plan to order a small coffee ($1) and grab a breakfast bar from my stash at work. But when the drive-through attendant asks for my order, I make this game-time decision to upgrade my coffee to a medium (+$0.49), add a sausage & egg burrito ($1), and sometimes – if I suppress the voice inside reminding me to eat healthily – a hash brown ($1). I know it’s pretty cheap, but it adds up day after day. It’s still no Starbucks “that-came-to-twelve-dollars?” at the register experience.

For lunch, I found a frozen meal I left in the faculty room freezer last week (score!) and dinner was dine-in again. Burgers. Tomorrow I told a friend I’d meet her out for dinner and drinks. I’ll check back in later this week and post my analysis at the end! I hope the results of this experiment are enlightening (and not just depressing), ha! Until next time…